Brazil men’s soccer team has never won Olympic gold. This year’s team, led by Neymar—widely considered one of the world’s top players—is just one step away from claiming the gold at home in Rio.
Currently ranked ninth by FIFA, the Brazilian national team has won every other major international soccer competition, plus a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics and the bronze at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.
But this Saturday, they’re poised to win gold—and in one of the most dramatic ways possible: this year’s gold medal game will be a rematch of one of the most infamous games in World Cup history.
Back in 2014, after Neymar broke his back in the quarterfinals, Brazil was forced to confront FIFA’s world No. 1, Germany, in the semifinals. The Brazilian men lost in an embarrassing 7-1 game—regarded as one of the worst losses in soccer history. It didn’t help that the thrashing occurred on Brazil’s home turf at the Estádio Mineirão.
In this gold medal match, the Brazilians will certainly be feeling the pressure.
Not only will they have the chance to redeem themselves for their annihilation in the 2014 World Cup semifinal, with Neymar—who missed their World Cup Final disaster due to injury—with a chance at vindication. But Brazil will also get to do so on their home turf, where the initial affront happened two years ago.
While Neymar’s reputation went somewhat unscathed by the 7-1 loss to Germany, he will carry the weight of his nation when Brazil takes the field Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Brazil has built-in excuses for past Olympic losses and poor performances—Pelé wasn’t eligible to participate in the Games during his “Golden Age,” and there could have been too much added pressure from substandard performances in the 2014 World Cup and this year’s Copa América. But everything seems to have fallen in place for the 2016 Rio Olympics to be a historic one for the national men’s team.
Prior to the gold medal match, at 12:00 p.m. ET, Honduras and Nigeria will duke it out for the Bronze medal.
How to Live Stream the 2016 Rio Olympics Brazil-Germany Gold Medal Soccer Match:
NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app will be live streaming coverage of the Games for pay TV subscribers via TV Everywhere. You can download the NBC Sports app to your Android TV, Apple TV, Xbox or Roku or use the iOS, Android or Windows Phone apps.
You can also live stream Olympic matches from NBC here.